U.S. patent number 6,380,990 [Application Number 08/946,363] was granted by the patent office on 2002-04-30 for method and apparatus for command and control of television receiver for video conferencing applications.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics, Inc.. Invention is credited to David H. Bessel.
United States Patent |
6,380,990 |
Bessel |
April 30, 2002 |
Method and apparatus for command and control of television receiver
for video conferencing applications
Abstract
An alignment command is transmitted from a video conference
application to a television receiver using an existing command path
within the television receiver. The television receiver is then
configured in accordance with the alignment command. Transmitting
the alignment command may include formatting the command according
to a protocol compatible with the existing command path within the
television receiver. For example, a signal protocol compatible with
a television remote control may be used. Further, the alignment
command may be received at an input jack associated with the
existing command path within said television receiver. Configuring
the television receiver may be accomplished by decoding the
alignment command to obtain an alignment parameter for the
television receiver. This may include accessing a table (e.g., a
look-up table stored in a memory) to obtain the alignment
parameter. The alignment parameter may then be used to produce a
display alignment command for the television receiver. The
television may include means for receiving the alignment command
from the video conference application and means for configuring the
television according to the alignment command. The receiving means
may include a command input path adapted to receive the alignment
command. The television's means for configuring generally includes
a programmable controller configured to provide a display alignment
command to configure the television according to the alignment
command.
Inventors: |
Bessel; David H. (Poway,
CA) |
Assignee: |
Sony Corporation (Tokyo,
JP)
Sony Electronics, Inc. (Park Ridge, NJ)
|
Family
ID: |
25484369 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/946,363 |
Filed: |
October 6, 1997 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
348/806;
348/E5.112; 348/14.01; 348/552; 348/353; 348/14.05; 348/14.08;
348/14.12; 348/14.09; 348/E7.083; 348/E5.096; 348/E5.103 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N
21/42204 (20130101); H04N 5/44 (20130101); H04N
21/42692 (20130101); H04N 21/6587 (20130101); H04N
5/44582 (20130101); H04N 21/6543 (20130101); H04N
21/47 (20130101); H04N 7/15 (20130101); H04N
21/485 (20130101); H04N 21/4312 (20130101); H04N
21/4788 (20130101); H04N 5/45 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04N
5/44 (20060101); H04N 5/445 (20060101); H04N
7/15 (20060101); H04N 5/45 (20060101); H04N
007/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;345/2,327,333,334,335
;348/12,14,13,15,17,739,10,553,552,806,14.01,14.02,14.05,14.07-14.09,14.12 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lee; Michael
Assistant Examiner: Lo; Linus H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Blakely, Sokoloff, Taylor &
Zafman LLP
Parent Case Text
RELATED APPLICATION
The present application is related to co-pending application No.
Ser. No. 08/946,015, filed Oct. 6 1997, entitled "Automatic
Television Picture Quality Optimizer and Mode Control for Video
Conferencing Applications" by David H. Bessel and assigned to the
Assignee of the present invention.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of aligning a television receiver for use during a
video conference, comprising:
receiving, from a video conference source, one or more alignment
commands for one or more television alignment parameters chosen
from a list including picture size or position parameters, picture
geometry parameters, or picture video form at parameters, said
receiving occurring through an existing command signal path within
the television receiver originally provided for use other than by
the video conference source and without requiring manual control
inputs by an operator of the television receiver,
decoding, at the television receiver, the one or more alignment
commands to obtain corresponding alignment parameters for the
television receiver; and
configuring a display output of the television receiver in
accordance with the corresponding alignment parameters decoded from
the one or more alignment commands.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising formatting, at the
video conference source and prior to receiving the alignment
commands, the one or more alignment commands according to a signal
protocol compatible for use with the command signal path within the
television receiver.
3. The method of claim 2 further comprising transmitting the
formatted alignment commands to the television receiver.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein decoding the alignment commands
comprises accessing a table to retrieve the corresponding alignment
parameters.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein the corresponding alignment
parameters comprise pre-stored alignment parameter sets for
optimizing the display of video conference image data.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting from the
television receiver to the video conference source, one or more
control inputs received through the existing command signal
path.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein the existing command signal path
comprises a television remote control signal path.
8. The method of claim 6 wherein the control inputs include address
information which identifies the control inputs as being directed
to the video conference source.
9. A television receiver, comprising:
a control port coupled to receive, from a video conference source
and not from a manual input source, one or more alignment commands
for one or more television alignment parameters chosen from a list
including picture size or position parameters, picture geometry
parameters, or picture video format parameters, the control port
further coupled to provide the received alignment commands to an
existing command signal path within the television receiver
originally provided for use other than by the video conference
source; and
a controller included within the command signal path and coupled to
receive the alignment commands from the control port, the
controller being configured to decode the alignment commands to
obtain corresponding alignment parameters for the television
receiver and to provide display alignment commands for the
television receiver in response thereto.
10. The television receiver of claim 9 wherein the command signal
path comprises a television remote control signal path configured
to receive television command inputs from a manually operated
remote control.
11. The television receiver of claim 10 wherein the command signal
path is further coupled to an output jack of the television
receiver and is configured to pass video conference commands
entered via the manually operated remote control to the video
conference source.
12. The television receiver of claim 9 wherein the controller is
coupled to a memory storing television alignment parameters and the
controller is configured to retrieve one or more of the stored
television alignment parameters when decoding the alignment
commands.
13. The television of claim 12 wherein the television alignment
parameters are stored in a look-up table.
14. The television receiver of claim 12 wherein the memory
comprises a read only memory.
15. The television receiver of claim 9 wherein the controller is
further coupled to receive command inputs initiated by a manually
operated remote control units through the command signal path and
is configured to identify whether the commands are intended for the
television receiver or the video conference source.
16. The television receiver of claim 15 wherein the controller is
configured to identify whether the commands are intended for the
television receiver or the video conference source on the basis of
address information included in the commands.
17. A video conference system, comprising:
a video conference source including a television remote control
simulator configured to provide one or more television alignment
commands in a protocol recognizable by an existing command path
within a television receiver that was originally provided for use
other than by the video conference source, the alignment commands
being for adjustment of one or more television alignment parameters
chosen from the list including picture size or position parameters,
picture geometry parameters, or picture video format parameters,
the alignment commands being provided automatically during a video
conference application, without manual control input, and
the television receiver coupled to the video conference source and
configured to receive the alignment commands through a control port
in which the alignment commands are buffered prior to decoding, the
control port being coupled to the existing command path within the
television receiver.
18. The video conference system of claim 17 wherein the television
receiver includes a controller coupled to receive the alignment
commands from the control port and configured to produce one or
more display alignment commands for the television receiver in
response thereto.
19. The video conference system of claim 18 wherein the controller
is included within the existing command path of the television
receiver and is further configured to receive commands entered via
a manually operated remote control unit.
20. The video conference system of claim 19 wherein the controller
is further configured to determine whether or not the commands
entered via the manually operated remote control unit are intended
for the television receiver or the video conference source
according to address information included in the commands and to
produce television control commands or not in accordance with the
decision.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is related to the field of television
receivers and, more particularly, to the automatic alignment of
such receivers in special applications such as video
conferencing.
BACKGROUND
Conventional television receivers are designed and configured to
optimize the display quality of video program material. For
example, in the United States, televisions are typically optimized
to display NTSC and/or S-video signals from sources such as
television antennas, video cassette recorders, digital satellite
television receivers and/or cable television sources. Under some
circumstances, however, it is desirable to display other types of
video images on a television receiver. For example, modem video
conferencing systems often combine video signals (which may be
formatted according to any of a variety of video signal
transmission standards) with computer graphic signals (such as are
used to display a variety of control buttons, etc.). Because the
television is configured to optimize the display of conventional
video signals, however, the resultant display of video conference
image signals may be less than satisfactory.
To overcome some of these problems, computer-generated or other
image signals are sometimes converted into conventional NTSC
signals before being displayed. Although this arrangement may
alleviate some of the problems associated with the display of such
images on televisions, it does have some undesirable side effects.
For example, because televisions are generally setup to overscan
the picture, i.e., televisions typically do not display the entire
image broadcast by the video source, and computer-generated images
often use the entire visible raster (e.g., on a computer video
monitor), the outer edges of the computer-generated image may be
cut off when displayed on a television receiver. This may be
compensated for through manual control inputs which may be used to
adjust the picture size to accommodate the entire
computer-generated image. The control inputs are generally provided
by a user through manual input command paths within the television
receiver, for example, hand-held remote control command input
paths. Such alterations of the picture size will, however, have the
drawback of effectively shrinking the display area of television
receiver. Further, additional command and control inputs will be
required when the television receiver is used to display
conventional television video input signals (e.g., from a cable
television source) to recover the original display size.
Additionally, because the picture quality of a conventional
television receiver degrades rapidly at the edges of the display,
computer-generated material at the edges of the of the display
(which may often be text, e.g., for a menu) will be displayed
poorly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method of
aligning a television receiver. An alignment command is transmitted
from a video conference application to the television receiver
using an existing command path within the television receiver. The
television receiver then reconfigures itself in accordance with the
alignment command. Transmitting the alignment command may include
formatting the command according to a protocol compatible with the
existing command path within the television receiver. For example,
a signal protocol compatible with a television remote control may
be used. Further, the alignment command may be received at an input
jack associated with the existing command path within said
television receiver.
Configuring the television receiver may be accomplished by decoding
the alignment command to obtain an alignment parameter for the
television receiver. This may include accessing a table (e.g., a
look-up table stored in a memory) to obtain the alignment
parameter. The alignment parameter may then be used to produce a
display alignment command for the television receiver.
In another embodiment, a television includes means for receiving an
alignment command from a video conference source and means for
configuring the television according to the alignment command. The
receiving means may include a command input path adapted to receive
the alignment command. This command input path may include a buffer
for the alignment command.
The television's means for configuring generally includes a
programmable controller configured to provide a display alignment
command to configure the television according to the alignment
command. In addition, decoding means may be provided to decode the
alignment command to obtain an alignment parameter. Such decoding
means may include a look-up table (e.g., as stored in a memory)
which includes the alignment parameter.
The television may also include a command path configured to
provide command inputs to the video conference source and to the
programmable controller. This command path may comprise a remote
control input sensor adapted to receive command inputs from an
associated remote control unit.
In yet a further embodiment, a command input path is provided. The
command input path includes means for receiving a command signal
from a video conference source indicating a television alignment
parameter and means for configuring a television according to the
alignment parameter. The means for receiving may comprise a control
port configured to buffer the command signal. The means for
configuring may comprise a programmable controller configured to
obtain the alignment parameter from the alignment command. This may
be accomplished using a look-up table (e.g., as stored in a memory)
which includes the alignment parameter and which is coupled to the
programmable controller.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not
limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in
which:
FIG. 1 illustrates a television system configured according to one
embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary command signal input for aligning a
television receiver according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A method and an apparatus for automatically aligning a television
receiver are disclosed. In one embodiment, an alignment command is
transmitted from a video conference application to the television
receiver using an existing command path within the television
receiver. The television receiver is then configured in accordance
with the alignment command. As used herein, the terms "configured",
"configure" and the like are used to describe the arrangement
(e.g., through automatic processes) of a television receiver's
internal circuitry (e.g., display circuitry). In digital systems,
such as digital televisions and the like, such configuration is
generally accomplished through the programming of registers or
similar programmable elements or devices, which programming is used
to reflect a preferred/desired state or states of one or more
parameters. Transmitting the alignment command may include
formatting the command according to a protocol compatible with the
existing command path within the television receiver. For example,
a signal protocol compatible with a television remote control may
be used. Further, the alignment command may be received at an input
jack associated with the existing command path within said
television receiver.
Configuring the television receiver may be accomplished by decoding
the alignment command to obtain an alignment parameter for the
television receiver. This may include accessing a table (e.g., a
look-up table stored in a memory) to obtain the alignment
parameter. The alignment parameter may then be used to produce a
display alignment command for the television receiver.
In another embodiment, a television includes means for receiving an
alignment command from a video conference source and means for
configuring the television according to the alignment command. The
receiving means may include a command input path adapted to receive
the alignment command. This command input path may include a buffer
for the alignment command.
The television's means for configuring generally includes a
programmable controller configured to provide a display alignment
command to configure the television according to the alignment
command. In addition, decoding means may be provided to decode the
alignment command to obtain an alignment parameter. Such decoding
means may include a look-up table (e.g., as stored in a memory)
which includes the alignment parameter.
The television may also include a command path configured to
provide command inputs to the video conference source and to the
programmable controller. This command path may comprise a remote
control input sensor adapted to receive command inputs from an
associated remote control unit.
In yet a further embodiment, a command input path is provided. The
command input path includes means for receiving a command signal
from a video conference source indicating a television alignment
parameter and means for configuring a television according to the
alignment parameter. The means for receiving may comprise a control
port configured to buffer the command signal. The means for
configuring may comprise a programmable controller configured to
obtain the alignment parameter from the alignment command. This may
be accomplished using a look-up table (e.g., as stored in a memory)
which includes the alignment parameter and which is coupled to the
programmable controller.
FIG. 1 illustrates a television system 100 configured according to
one embodiment of the present invention. Television system 100
includes a television receiver 102 which is adapted to display both
conventional video signals (e.g., NTSC, S-video, PAL, etc.) and
computer-generated image signals such as may be presented by a
video conference/data source 104. Further, television receiver 102
is capable of automatically configuring its display characteristics
according to a set of alignment and/or set-up parameters to
optimize the display of received signals. To accomplish these
tasks, television receiver 102 include a microprocessor or other
programmable controller 106 and a set-up/alignment parameter memory
108. Controller 106 is coupled to memory 108 through a bus 110 and
is configured to read memory 108 to obtain set-up/alignment
parameters. These set-up/alignment parameters may then be used to
produce display alignment commands for other units (e.g., display
units) within television receiver 102 so that the display
characteristics of television receiver 102 are configured according
to the setup/alignment parameters.
Memory 108 may comprise a read/write memory (or memories) so that
the setup/alignment parameters stored therein can be updated or
overwritten as required. In other embodiments, memory 108 may be a
read only memory (or memories), in which case the set-up/alignment
parameters are stored as a look-up table and controller 106 may
retrieve appropriate values from the look-up table according to
various set-up/alignment commands. In still further embodiments,
memory 108 may comprise a look-up table that is overwriteable. In
such embodiments, preferred set-up/alignment parameters may be
stored in memory 108 for typical video and/or computer-generated
image signal applications and such values may be updated according
to new video or other signal standards as required. This provides a
degree of flexibility and backwards compatibility for television
receiver 102 as changes to video signal standards are made. Still
other configurations for memory 108 are possible and each may
provide the basic functionality of storing set-up/alignment
parameters for use by controller 106.
The use of controller 106 allows television receiver 102 to adapt
its display characteristics according to the type of image signals
(e.g., NTSC video, computer-generated images, etc.) to be displayed
thereon. These display characteristics (e.g., image horizontal and
vertical size, etc.) may be changed according to numeric parameters
(e.g., the set-up/alignment parameters from memory 108) to optimize
the display of such images. Further, by allowing controller 106 to
accept different set-up/alignment commands through existing command
and control paths (e.g., as may be originally provided for
receiving commands from a video cassette recorder or other remote
control unit), television receiver 102 may be configured to
optimize the display of video conference images/data automatically,
without need for user intervention. Thus, television receiver 102
may have a "television" mode, wherein the set-up/alignment
parameters used by controller 106 are adapted to provide optimum
viewing of conventional television video signals, and a "video
conference" mode, wherein the set-up/alignment parameters are
adapted to provide optimum viewing of such images and data.
Television receiver 102 may switch between its television and
video-conference modes (i.e., controller 106 may load appropriate
set-up/alignment parameters from memory 108) in response to
set-up/alignment commands 112 from video conference source 104.
Video conference source 104 may be part of television receiver 102
or it may be a separate, stand-alone unit. In either of these
configurations, video conference source 104 is configured to
provide set-up/alignment commands 112 to controller 106 to allow
controller 106 to load set-up/alignment parameters from memory 106
to optimize viewing of video conference image data.
When conventional television video signals (e.g., NTSC or S-video
signals) are provided to television receiver 102 for display on
display 114, controller 106 accesses the prestored set-up/alignment
parameters for such conventional video signals from memory 108 and
configures the display units of television receiver 102
accordingly. When video conference image data is to be displayed on
television receiver 102, video conference source 104 passes
set-up/alignment control messages 112 to controller 106 through an
existing command path 116 (e.g., a hand held or other remote
control command path or an I.sup.2 C production alignment command
path as is used to align television receiver 102 during
manufacture) within television receiver 102. Alternatively, a
specially adapted command path may be used. The control messages
may include specific set-up/alignment commands for controller 106
or may be instructions to load preferred alignment parameters from
memory 108 for the display of the video conference image data. In
either case, the alignment commands 112 may be passed through
command path 116 from an input jack 118 to a control port 120
coupled to controller 106. Control port 120 may include a buffer to
store commands 112 and interrupt or other appropriate logic to
communicate with controller 106.
Commands 112 may be specific set-up/alignment parameters for
television receiver 102. For example, consider that to convert from
an overscanned television image format to one compatible with the
display of video conference images, it may be necessary to reduce
the raster length of television receiver 102 so that an entire
active line of the video conference image will be visible on the
television display 114. Accordingly, by knowing the raster length
of the television receiver 102 and measuring the active video time,
horizontal front porch and horizontal frequency values for the
video conference image data, video conference source 104 may
transmit appropriate alignment parameter values for the television
receiver's horizontal picture size and position. In some cases,
this may be done by direct computation or it may be accomplished
through use of a look-up table. Having thus determined the
horizontal and vertical parameters for television receiver 102, in
a like fashion, optimal values for other geometry parameters such
as upper and lower pin cushion, vertical bow, pin amplitude,
vertical and horizontal angle, etc. can be determined. Similarly,
the RGB (or other video format) parameters of the video conference
image data can be used to determined appropriate brightness and
contrast settings, etc. for television receiver 102.
The calculated set-up/alignment parameters for television receiver
102 may be transmitted directly to controller 106 or may be loaded
into specified locations in memory 108 (in which case video
conference source 104 would notify controller 106 that the values
should be read), e.g., under the control of controller 106 or a
direct memory access (DMA) controller (not shown). In either case,
the parameters may be used to adjust the alignment of television
receiver 102 to optimize the display of the video conference image
data. In still further embodiments, video conference source 104 may
transmit commands 112 which indicate to controller 106 that the
video conference image signals comply with a known video conference
image format standard. Controller 106 may use these commands to
determine which of a set of prestored set-up/alignment parameters
should be loaded from memory 108. Further still, video conference
source 104 may continually or periodically monitor the video
conference image data and update the set-up/alignment commands 112
if any changes in these signals are observed. When regular
television video signals are again provided to television receiver
102, controller 106 will revert to using set-up/alignment
parameters appropriate for such input signals.
To provide the set-up/alignment commands 112, video conference
source 104 may include a remote control simulator 122. Remote
control simulator 122 simulates the signal protocol used by
television remote control 124, thus the set-up/alignment commands
112 resemble conventional commands 132 provided to television
receiver 102 by remote control 124. By using such a signal
protocol, the present invention allows for the use of an existing
command path 116 (as may be provided to transport command signals
from a video cassette recorder or other remote control unit) within
television receiver 102 to transport the set-up/alignment commands
for the video conference application. Controller 106 basically
interprets the set-up/alignment commands 112 as being equivalent to
commands received from remote control 124 (e.g., through remote
control sensor 126) and configures television receiver 102
accordingly.
In addition, television receiver 102 includes an output jack 128
which can be used to transmit control messages to video conference
source 104. For example, using remote control 124, a user can enter
commands for video conference source 104. These commands are
received by television receiver 102 through remote control sensor
126. The commands are passed to controller 106 but are recognized
as being directed for another unit (in this case video conference
source 104), e.g., by examining an address or other portion of the
command. Thus, controller 106 ignores such commands. The commands
are further provided to output jack 128 and transmitted to video
conference source 104 through line 130. In this way, the remote
control input path including remote control sensor 126 is used as a
command and control path for video conference source 104, obviating
the need for a separate command and control path/unit. Because
video conference source 104 is already configured to provide
commands 112 according to the same signal protocol as those
provided by remote control 124, video conference source 104 is
capable of decoding the commands from remote control 124 received
on line 130. Of course, commands 132 from remote control unit 124
to controller 106 will also be transmitted to video conference
source 104 across line 130, however, such commands are recognized
as being directed to controller 106 and are ignored by video
conference source 104.
Thus, existing command and control paths within television receiver
102 may be used for video conference applications. For example,
remote control 124 may be used to initiate video conference calls.
Commands to configure television receiver 102 for its video
conference mode may be transmitted to controller 106 through remote
control sensor 126 and the same command input path may be used to
activate video conference source 104 to initiate the call.
Alternatively, the remote control 124 may be used to answer an
incoming video conference call, with appropriate set-up/alignment
commands 112 for television receiver 102 being provided from video
conference source 104 through command path 116.
To optimize the display of video conference images,
set-up/alignment commands 112 for television receiver 102 should
accurately determine the vertical and horizontal geometries for the
display circuitry of television receiver 102 as well as the color
information to be displayed. These parameters may be computed from
video timing and other information contained within the video
conference image signals. For example, parameters such as
horizontal and vertical picture size and position; pin amplitude;
upper and lower pin; pin phase; vertical bow and angle; reference
pulse position; sub color, hue and brightness; gamma level;
sharpness frequency and limited; brightness, contrast, hue and
color; and sharpness may all need to be provided as
set-up/alignment command signals 112 to television receiver 102 to
optimize the display of video conference image data. As discussed
above, these parameters may be provided directly to controller 106
or may be accessed from memory 108 in response to command signals
112 indicating that controller 106 should use a prestored set of
set-up/alignment parameters in memory 108 which will optimize the
display of the video conference image data.
In general, the command and control signals 132 from remote control
124 (and, hence, command signals 112 from video conference source
104) are part of a serially formatted data stream and individual
commands may be transmitted through the use of an arbitrary
modulation scheme. In one embodiment, 12-bit pulse width modulation
encoding is used. (Of course, other signal formats may be used.)
FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary command input signal 150 which may
be decoded by controller 106 to provide a desired response. In the
illustration, t.sub.G is a guide pulse of nominal duration 2.4 msec
(.+-.0.4 msec.); t.sub.0 is a data "0" of nominal duration 1.2
msec. (.+-.0.28 msec.), t.sub.1 is a data "1" of nominal duration
1.8 msec. (.+-.0.28 msec.) and t.sub.off has a duration of
0.32-0.75 msec. The total duration of the command input signal 150
is approximately 45 msec. By varying the asserted bits within the
command input signal 150, numerous commands may be provided
for.
The specific commands 112 to be provided from video conference
source 104 to television receiver 102 will depend upon the
operating mode of the television receiver at the time video
conference activity is initiated. Thus, video conference source 104
may monitor these operating modes, e.g., by snooping the commands
132 provided from remote control 124 to controller 106. In one
possible scenario, television receiver 102 may be operating in its
television mode, with conventional television video signals being
displayed on a full screen of display 114. If an incoming video
conference call is detected by video conference source 104,
commands 112 may be provided to (1) mute the television video
sound, (2) select a picture-in-picture mode and place the
television video signals in such a picture-in-picture window, and
(3) configure the remaining portion of display 114 for the incoming
video conference image signals (or vice versa). At the end of the
call, additional commands 112 to restore the original operating
mode of television receiver 102 may be provided. Thus, as a first
step, video conference source 104 may store the current operating
configuration of television receiver 102 before transmitting new
set-up/alignment commands 112. As an additional example, if the
television receiver 102 is turned off and an incoming video
conference call is detected, video conference source 104 would
transmit appropriate commands 112 to turn on the television
receiver 102 and configure the entire display 114 to accommodate
the video conference image data. Many other control operations are
possible depending upon the operating mode of television receiver
102 and desired user responses to answering and/or initiating video
conference operations (e.g., ring before answer, auto-answer,
etc.)
The present invention provides several advantages for the control
of television receivers. For example, a television receiver which
is typically setup to overscan the picture may be automatically
configured in accordance with the above procedures to allow a
computer-generated image to use the entire visible raster. Thus,
the outer edges of the computer-generated image will not be cut off
when displayed on the television receiver. No manual control inputs
to adjust the picture size to accommodate the entire
computer-generated image are necessary. Further, when the
television receiver is used to display conventional television
video input signals, the original display size may be automatically
recovered by loading a preferred set of set-up/alignment
parameters.
Thus a method and apparatus for automatically configuring a
television receiver to display computer generated images have been
described. Although features and examples of the present invention
have been described with reference to specific exemplary
embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will appreciate that
certain modifications may be possible without departing from the
broader spirit and scope of the invention which should be limited
only by the claims which follow.
* * * * *